Housing.com News, Analysis & Opinion: FEMAVille Tales: More Mistakes, More Mulligans

The article mentions Chertoff's desire to reorganize FEMA. The Baltimore Sun has more on that. Of course, if Chertoff's boss hadn't deemphasized FEMA and made it the gofer boy of DHS, they might have had the resources necessary to provide a better response to Katrina. Money quote:

Also yesterday, the former 9/11 commission issued the Homeland Security Department a grade of D, noting that the department has failed to produce an assessment of the top threats facing the nation and the areas of the country that are most vulnerable to an attack from terrorists or nature, even though Congress required it to do so last summer. Asked about the grade, Chertoff said, "I'm not sure what they're referring to."

Oy gevalt. If I had a boss this dumb, I'd be getting beefed-up security too. In all seriousness, the level of discontent and hatred of FEMA is reaching epic proportions. You can't blame God or Nature for the hurricane itself, but it's damn sure easy to blame FEMA for its failure to do its job with any level of professionalism or concern for those who they were supposed to be helping.

On a more positive note, MSNBC reports that the Feddie Gov is paying Katrina mortgages. Here's the official announcement from HUD. I don't find the requirements overly stringent, and it's much less of a sting than private lenders demanding that the hurricane survivors start paying on loans for destroyed houses. Intellectually, I know it's necessary for banks to maintain their capital, but emotionally, it's just foul. If we're gonna spend $200 million, let's use it to put people back in homes, not in trailer parks or Motel 6's.

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Proving that Mike "Fashion God" Brown's priorities were no isolated incident, MSNBC has the sad tale of FEMA's internal discussions over Katrina. I'm glad to see the major media picking up on this story and carrying it onward. We can't let this fall out of the proverbial consciousness. This isn't something folks can just blow off like an ill wind. The article mentions Chertoff's desire to reorganize FEMA. The Baltimore Sun has more on that. Of course, if Chertoff's boss hadn't deemphasized FEMA and made it the gofer boy of DHS, they might have had the resources necessary to provide a better response to Katrina. Money quote: Also yesterday, the former 9/11 commission issued the Homeland Security Department a grade of D, noting that the department has failed to produce an assessment of the top threats facing the nation and the areas of the country that are most vulnerable to an attack from terrorists or nature, even though Congress required it to do so last summer. Asked about the grade, Chertoff said, "I'm not sure what they're referring to." Oy gevalt. If I had a boss this dumb, I'd be getting beefed-up security too. In all seriousness, the level of discontent and hatred of FEMA is reaching epic proportions. You can't blame God or Nature for the hurricane itself, but it's damn sure easy to blame FEMA for its failure to do its job with any level of professionalism or concern for those who they were supposed to be helping. On a more positive note, MSNBC reports that the Feddie Gov is paying Katrina mortgages. Here's the official announcement from HUD. I don't find the requirements overly stringent, and it's much less of a sting than private lenders demanding that the hurricane survivors start paying on loans for destroyed houses. Intellectually, I know it's necessary for banks to maintain their capital, but emotionally, it's just foul. If we're gonna spend $200 million, let's use it to put people back in homes, not in trailer parks or Motel 6's.